Part 1: Setting my Educational Goals
Some of my educational goals I hope to obtain from this program is:
Maintain network relationship with faculty members
Obtain a TA position
Look for internship opportunities
Create and participate in a capstone project
Part 2: Setting my Goals
Getting one of the following roles in the industry:
Data, software, or machine learning engineer
Preference: right now I am stuck between software and machine learning engineering. Software development offers more career flexibility and opportunities but personal interest lies in machine learning and AI.
Create side projects that delve into both machine learning and software development so that I can receive a better idea of what I really want.
Part 3: Taking a guess of my percentile of the ETS Computer Science test
I feel that I can receive a score of between 70-80% if I were to take it in 18 months. I believe this way because I feel confident with topics regarding discrete structures, programming, and algorithms. The part that I feel currently weak at is systems, information management, and the “other” category that involves web computing and security.
Test taking is something I am comfortable with and already used to. The computer science ETS test looks very familiar to the CSET format that I’ve taken before for both chemistry and math. I’m sure with some practice and studying, I can pass the CS ETS test as well.
Part 4: What I’ve Learned this Week
Reading about the ETS computer science test caught my attention. There seems to be very little information about it online. Is its purpose only to assess how well a college cs program does in preparing their students? Call me a masochist but it looks like it would be a bit fun to actually take this test.
While writing my paper outline, a second pondering I’ve had is how little control recruiters actually have when using AI software to source candidates. Looks like algorithms tend to learn from the user’s habit and once it is set in stone, the user can’t do much to change it beyond that. Reminds me of some of the problems I’ve been having with Youtube. Looks like my algorithm only recommends the same videos over and over (which is mainly warhammer and computer science videos). If I try to manually deviate away from that by watching some other theme, it just recommends me right back to those two topics. The algorithm formed a bias of what I like and remains pretty stubborn from moving away from it.
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteYour educational goals seem very practical. Honestly, I think you can set your goals a little higher if you can combine your past experience with the skills you will develop during this program.
Even if you don't I imagine you will find success!
Greetings, hope you are doing well. I really enjoyed reading your career goals, being a data, ML, or software engineer are all great options. There is a great demand for all of them, especially if one masters it, then we can have a great career! I myself also want to dive into Software engineering, but machine learning engineer also sounds very appealing since its in the realm of AI and Language learning models, I’ll do some more discovery into this field.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your educational goals, becoming a TA or obtaining an internship is a great idea. Teaching others is a great way to master a respective technology. I encourage you to do a capstone that you truly enjoy, it will make the experience way better. Good luck on your future endeavors! 😊
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your contribution I believe that the approaches for your educational goals are very aligned with the roles you want to achieve in the future. Having this mindset, combined with past approaches and experiences in other fields could lead you to success. Can not wait to see all the great things you will achieve!
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteYou have some great educational and career goals. One that caught my attention was the consideration of a TA position. I have been a TA in the past, although not in college. Instead, I was the TA for my AP Computer Science A class senior year of high school. Based on my experience, I believe that becoming a TA is an eye-opening experience for students who know the respective course/teacher well, and I think it is a great opportunity for those interested in pursuing a career in education.
Your career goals are also good, with a goal of becoming a data, machine, or software engineer. All of those paths are good choices in the modern age. I also think having side/personal projects is a good idea, especially because there are many recruiters that are interested in seeing such projects. GitHub is a great place to host them.
- Brandon Evans
Hello! I love how concise your educational goals list is. I often find that very extensive or wordy lists of my own tend to make me feel overwhelmed, so I also try to make things short and manageable. Networking with faculty is such an important aspect of education, and many do not fully take advantage of the opportunity to do so. When I was at University of Hawaii, one of my Computer Science professors was working on making an easy package for creating animations within Java, and I still keep in touch with him from time to time to see how his project is going. Oftentimes, introductory Java classes are small, easy projects to get started in programming, but his expertise in game design really showed in his passion project to help make class more fun for freshmen. I hope you are able to TA, it sounds like a wonderful experience. I really like how your career goals contain two options: one for where your interests lie, and one for flexibility in the field. I feel the same way about my future endeavors and am torn between machine learning and software engineering. Perhaps we will be able to network with each other one day since we share common interests and goals.
ReplyDelete